Restoring
the Joy
Sermon # 4
Philippians 2:1-11
Over the last few
weeks in our series “Restoring the Joy”
we have seen how circumstances may cause us to lose our joy but and that in reality it is
our attitude that determines our joy not our circumstances.
In our last lesson we learned that our joy
is found in having a proper perspective on the eternal, on our citizenship and on
hardship. In the last section Paul touched on the need for believers
to behave as citizens of heaven by getting along well with one another. Paul warned that
disputes and grudges would drive a wedge into the church. Therefore, we are called to work
hard at healing and working to mend offenses within the body. We also noted that Paul said
in his letter to the Ephesians, that believers are called “to
keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). In the section of the letter to the Philippians that
we are going to examine today (2:1-11) Paul’s major concern is that there not be
disunity or conflict in the church.
I want you to note
three things about this call to unity..
(vv.
1-2)
Paul again takes up
the theme of unity, the unity which will produce joy, when he says, in verse one of
chapter two, “Therefore
if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any affection and mercy, (2) fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the
same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
Paul uses four
“if” clauses to introduce his exhortation to unity. To us, an
“if” often conveys a degree of doubt, but the Greek construction used here
(called first class condition in Greek) does not do so. On the contrary, these
“if’s” can and should be rendered “since”
and are assumed to be true.
The “if” is simply a rhetorical
way of forcefully saying “since” you
have encourage-ment in Christ, since you have
comfort provided by love, since you have
fellowship with the Spirit, and since you have
affection and mercy, then complete my joy.…
I like the way that
the translation “The Message” renders the first two verses of this chapter.
The truth is that we
need each other, I read a poem that I think beautifully illustrates this point.
“The reason mountain
climbers
are tied together
is to keep the sane ones from
going home.’
I don’t know who said it,
Or when, or where,
But I’ve chuckled over it,
Thought about
it, and quoted it too.
With a mountain
of mercy behind me
And a mountain
of mission ahead,
I need you, my
sister, my brother,
I need you to be
tied to you,
And you need me
too.
We need each
other…
To keep from
bolting,
Fleeing in
panic, and returning
To the
‘sanity’ of unbelief.
Wise words,
whoever said them,
I’ve placed
them in my ‘bible’:
They are my
Hezekiah 6:14.”
[Gerhard E. Frost.
“Blessed Is the Ordinary.” As quoted in Charles Swindoll. “The Tale of
the Tardy Oxcart: And 1,501 Other Stories” (Nashville: Word Pub., 1998) p. 597.]
John recorded
Jesus’ prayer for all those who would believe in him in chapter 17, in verse
twenty Jesus says, “I do not pray for these alone, but
for those who will believe in Me through their word; (21) that they all may be one, as
You, Father, are in me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may
believe that You sent Me.”
John describes a
visible unity, for it is only a visible unity that the world can see and on the basis of
which people can come to believe in Jesus. This unity has to be expressed in everything we
do and say. In 1 John 1:7 it says, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all
sin.” Do you have a member of the household of faith with whom you are on bad
terms? Do you have a Christian brother or sister with whom you are not speaking? The
context of this verse seems to indicate that to be out of fellowship with our Christian
brothers and sisters is to be out of fellowship with God. Unity in the church is that
important to the Lord.
In verse one when Paul
refers to “fellowship of the Spirit,” this
suggests that the Holy Spirit has created the fellowship that Christians enjoy with one
another. The fellowship that exists between Christians is a fellowship created by God. It
exists not because we have so much in common, but because we are mutually dependent
members of Christ’s body.
Not Only the
Motivation for our unity but …
SECONDLY,
THE MEANS OF ATTAINING UNITY. (vv.3-4)
“Let
nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem others better than himself. (4) Let each of you look out not only for his own
interests, but also for the interests of others.”
First, Paul says “Let
nothing be done through selfish ambition,” in
other words “Don’t be Selfish” the KJV uses the word “strife” (eritheia)
the Greek word means “electioneering
or intriguing for office” in the South we would call it “politicking.”
A person who practices this approach to life does things at the expense of other people in
order to elevate themselves. Paul then goes on to say “let
nothing be done through…. conceit” -
“conceit” (kenodoxia) means a groundless or empty pride in
one’s own opinion.
By nature man put himself first, others
second and God last, if at all. The Bible teaches that we should reverse that order, God
is to be first, others are to be second and we must come last.
But what does it
mean to live unselfishly?
· “When a husband is
unselfish, he subjugates his own wants and desires to the needs of his wife and family.
· When a mother is unselfish, she
isn’t irked by having to give up her agenda or plans for the sake of her children.
· When an athlete is unselfish, it
is the team that matters, not winning top honors personally.
· When a Christian is unselfish,
others mean more than self. Pride is given no place to operate.”
[Charles Swindoll. Laugh
Again: Experience Outrageous Joy. (Dallas: Word, 1991) p.79]
Next Paul says, “but
in lowliness of mind” what Paul is talking about is
– Humility.
In fact the Christian is to regard others as more important than yourself
– that is not thinking less of yourself (low self esteem) but not thinking of
yourself at all! It is the willingness to put self in second place and if necessary to
forgo one’s personal “rights” in order to advance the interest of
one’s brothers and sisters in Christ.
Since true unity is a matter
of the heart, how then can it be attained? First, we must admit that we do not really care
for others as we should. And the biggest part
of our problem is that we are still self-motivated. We must achieve this ‘lowliness
of mind’ or humility. The Christian author C. S. Lewis says, “If
anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first big step. The
first step is to realize that one is proud.’
He adds that it is “biggish step, too. At
least, nothing whatever can be done before it.” [C. S. Lewis. “Mere
Christianity.” (New York: MacMillan, 1958) p. 99]
THIRD, THE MODEL OF UNITY (vv. 5-11)
Paul says, and this is a command, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The
words “let this mind be” (phroneo) means to have this understanding. Since
outlook determine outcome, if the outlook is selfish, the outcome will be actions that are
divisive and destructive.
Paul advises the church at Philippi and
through them the church of today to follow Christ example. But that is extremely hard to
do in our modern world. Great, if not ultimate value is attached to wealth, glamour, power
and prestige and the accepted ways of doing this involves using other people.
What does it mean to follow the example of
Jesus?
“Imagine Jesus as a grump,
so negative that people cross the street to avoid eye contact. Or imagine Jesus waking in
the morning and making statements like, “What a dull day. I’m sleeping in.”
If Jesus doesn’t fit these scenes, neither should you. In the morning get up with
zest. Jesus had, sure that God the Father would guide each hour. As dusk approaches,
refresh yourself in the tender mercies of the Lord, and don’t let the days’
pressures make you a grump. Live your day like Jesus lived his.” [Life
Application Bible Commentary. Philippians, Colossians& Philemon. (Wheaton:
Tyndale, 1995) p. 56]
Verse six says, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be
equal with God,” this verses describes the status of Christ as he existed
before the creation of the world – in his pre-incarnate state. The words “who being” in the Greek are a present participle
indicating continuing existence from the beginning (Genesis 1:1). John 1:1-3, says,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. (2) He (that is Jesus) was in the
beginning with God. (3) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made
that was made.” Jesus said in his
high priestly prayer as recorded in John 17:5, “And
now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before
the world was.” Jesus in his
essence is equal with God! Everything that God is, Jesus is. He is equal in his divine
assets with the Father. Yet Jesus did not consider this equality something to be grasped. “There are two schools of thought regarding these words about the
Jesus’ equality with God: (1) Christ did not have to seize or grasp his equality, it
was already his, or (2) Christ did not consider his equality with God as something which
he had to hold on to and not let slip from his grasp. Actually both ideas are true!” [Life
Application Bible Commentary. Philippians, Colossians& Philemon. (Wheaton:
Tyndale, 1995) p. 58]
Verse seven
says, “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of
a bond-servant, and coming in the likeness of men. This
verse says, “he made himself of no reputation” or
as the Greek literally says, “he emptied himself.”
The same word (morphe)
is used when it says in verse six, “being in the form
of God” and in verse seven “taking the form
of a bondservant” “Paul says that before the
incarnation Jesus was in the form of God and was God’s equal. These words do not mean
that God has a material form, but only that Jesus Christ possesses all of God’s
attributes. They mean that he is God.” [James Montgomery Boice. Philippians: An
Expositional Commentary. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
1971) p. 111]
Verse eight,
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to
the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Did Jesus just not
realize that path He had chosen would lead ultimately to the cross? Of course He
did! Was he aware He aware that just how great a sacrifice would be demanded of
Him? Without question. Did He just stoically face it all with a grim
face and a stiff upper lip? Not at all. The writer of Hebrews tells us
(12:2), “looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Did you catch that,
“who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross?” He saw those
of us who would benefit from His sacrifice as “the joy set before Him.”
And as a result what ultimately happened? Verse nine, “Therefore
God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.(10) that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and
of those under the earth, (11) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
No else deserve
that title. We have only one Lord and it is Jesus.
Verse ten tells us
that verbal acknow-ledgement of the sovereignty of Jesus Christ will be made by every
human being who ever lived, whether or not they ever accepted Jesus as their personal
Savior, as well as by the entire angelic host, both heavenly and demonic. Some will do so
with joy and others with great agony (James 2:19). Those who love Jesus will bow in
adoration and worship those who refused to acknowledge him will bow in submission and
fear. This does not mean that eventually everyone will be saved. It means that the day is coming when human
arrogance will come to an end, when every mouth will be stopped (Romans 3:19) and everyone
will admit the truth is truth, even it they hate doing it.
Conclusion
By finishing his account of the story of Jesus with His exaltation Paul reminds us of the final day on which we will also give an account to God of our mutual relationships within the church and explicitly urges to follow the example of Jesus in light of that day!